If You Ask Me Why One More Time…
When faced with a problem we often jump to a solution. How often do we stop to evaluate the problem itself? Do we really know if that is the true problem, or are there other factors that should be considered? Are you just scratching the surface of a deeper problem at hand? You might be wondering, why look at the problem if you already know the solution? My question to you: how do you know you have found the right solution if you don’t know the real cause of your problem?
Formulating a problem statement is no easy task. Understanding the true root cause of a problem you are trying to solve can be difficult and you may have to ask yourself why a few times. Let me tell you, after the first few times you do this you begin to feel like you’re talking to a young child who asks why after everything you say.
What do I mean? Why don’t I show you… We believe that our couple (who we are solving for, if you haven’t read my latest blog, find out more there) is struggling to make financial decisions. Why? Because they aren’t openly discussing their finances as a couple. Why? Because they don’t feel confident in their financial knowledge and what decisions to make… Why? You get the picture. This type of exercise drills us down to the root cause of the problem.
There may be more than one root cause. Often you need to break a problem into all the causes and effects to help really understand the real problem you’re trying to solve. We believe our couple (who we are solving for) are not discussing their finances together and are feeling overwhelmed with financial decisions. They want to make better financial decisions but have various things in their way preventing them from working towards their goals. How might we help them make simple and sustained progress towards their goals?
Do you often jump to solutions?
Have you ever taken the time to really evaluate the root cause of a problem?
Try asking the question why a few times and see where it leads you!
Next stop “ideation”, where the possibilities are endless. It is time to start thinking about the solution. For now, any idea is welcome as we can pull inspiration from many different places and industries. A current industry we tend to come back to is health and fitness. Many people know simple steps to loosing weight and eating healthier, so why is it often such a struggle? What motivates people to make better decisions? And what can we learn from that to help people with progress and steps towards their financial goals. Let the research and brainstorming begin!
Emily Strybosch
